RUSSIA
Operation World states that from 1917-87 the Church in Russia has suffered the most severe and sustained persecution of any nation in recent history. Over 200,000 Christian leaders were martyred and by 1940 there were only 1000 church buildings in all of Russia.
Today, Christian leaders in Russia, who are few in number, must rise to many great challenges. Lack of training in the past, need for funding today and loss of many pastors and educators through emigration contribute to this lack of leaders.
In the midst of this, in 1993 God birthed a remarkable seminary to equip men and women as pastors, children’s ministers, counselors, church planters, and teachers. Moscow Seminary became the place of study for students from Russia, Belarus, Ukraine, Uzbekistan, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Moldova, Georgia and Armenia.
You can make a difference by funding the expansion of the seminary or supporting a seminary student.
Moscow Seminary Expansion
Currently, the seminary is expanding, enrollment & number of students is growing. From 2007 to 2019 the number of students has increased more than 10 times! Today the seminary trains over 550 full-time students and 200 part-time students annually to minister the gospel in Russia, Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Lithuania, Moldova, Tajikistan, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, and Uzbekistan.
Current Needs:
Provide students with a new smart-cam for lectures in an auditorium at the seminary. SUGGESTED GIFT: $150
Help students learn and work while traveling with a compact tablet, keyboard and stylus. SUGGESTED GIFT: $645 FOR EACH STUDENT
Enable the seminary to continue to offer student housing during academic sessions. One apartment is being renovated, and new furniture and kitchen items are needed. TOTAL COST: $1,800 OR SUGGESTED GIFT: $300
Fuel the work of a new training curriculum that is being translated into Russian to further the training for ministers. TOTAL COST: $8,750 FOR THE FIRST YEAR; SUGGESTED GIFT: $450
Moscow Evangelical Seminary is sending out pastors and church leaders throughout Russia and beyond. Over 500 students are currently being equipped. The annual cost of tuition, room, and board for a seminary student is $1,200. Consider sponsoring a seminary student featured below.
Anton Svatov (Антон Сватов)
Yaroslavl (Ярославль)
Dean of a church in Yaroslavl
Hello, my name is Anton, and I would like to share with you my testimony of how I met Jesus Christ and how He changed my life.
Before I met Jesus, my life was no different from the lives of other people. In my thoughts, I was often in search of something real and eternal. As a child, I already knew about Jesus. My mother took me to church, and as a teenager I lived with constant anxiety about the future and who I really am.
The key event in my life was that my family needed to move to another country. Two weeks after we moved, Mom invited me to a church meeting with her. I listened to the sermon, the Lord Jesus touched me and I was intrigued, in these words. I did not just feel wisdom, I felt power in them.
Shortly afterward, the Pastor of the church invited me to read the Bible. He became the person who led me to make a decision to enter into a covenant with the Lord Jesus and I was baptized in water.
My new life in Jesus freed me from addictions, from bad habits, and most importantly, He freed me from the dependence of sin, gave peace to my heart and showed an example of how to live.
Jesus delivered me from anxiety and from the fear of death, now I live and trust in Him, knowing and believing that whoever trusts in the Lord will not be ashamed,
Now I serve in the church, I have a job, I have a wife and a son, all this thanks to the only God, Jesus Christ.
My childhood and adolescence were very difficult. In adolescence, I had many thoughts about suicide, but at the same time there was a firm knowledge that the Lord exists, and He would definitely not approve of my unauthorized departure from life.
As my understanding of my calling strengthened, the quality of my life continued to deteriorate. In the 11th grade, I became very ill and was not even able to leave the house for several months. During this period, I especially felt the fragility of my life, and this frightened me. During this time, I felt that I needed the Lord, but I did not really understand the paths to Him.
I found out that my classmate was praying for me. She invited me to her church. I did not feel any supernatural touch of God then but after several years of service in the church I began to build a strong relationship with God, and a realization of His participation in my life was there from the very beginning. I experienced His miracle when I was accepted into the university of my dreams, studying to be a psychologist even though I did not test well on my exams, due to my illness.
This was a huge testimony of His glory for me. It affirmed what God wanted me to do and I knew I was blessed by Him. Now I can firmly say that I am following the path that God has for me. I work with people both in the professional sphere and in ministry.
My education in the Moscow Evangelical seminary is important to me in order to know the Scriptures more deeply, to examine my heart, and every day to be clothed in His image and to love with His love those whom He gives me in work and ministry.
Ekaterina (a.k.a Katya) Ryazanova (Екатерина Рязанова )
Moscow (Москва)Primary-school teacher, Christian psychologist. Master of church ministry
Sergei Zyryanov (Сергей Зырянов)
Novosibirsk (Новосибирс)
Christian businessman, founder of the Center for "Biblical Principles in Business" Bachelor of church ministry
My vision goes beyond the city and even the country. We bought land in the Altai Republic for the construction of a "Business Development and Spiritual Management Center." This is one of the points where people will immerse themselves in the atmosphere of God at business camps and receive financial and business education based on biblical values. I believe that non-believers will change their values and accept the Christian faith. Christians will change their thinking and approach to modern life without distorting or departing from God’s word.
I received a revelation from God that in order to carry out my plans correctly and without distortion, I need to receive a spiritual education. As head of this organization, I should also have a professional spiritual education to lead people to God and give them a biblical foundation!